New Biology for Engineers and Computer Scientists

Taking a system approach to expose modern biology, this book presents the fundamental system principles and parameters common to all living species. The straightforward examination begins with a presentation of molecular cell biology and progresses to the complex interrelationship between genes and proteins as observed in metabolic process, signal transduction, cell division and embryonic development. The book's unique approach provides a depiction of the human genome project, a review of high throughput biology and bioinformatic tools and a presentation of gene circuitry and pathway analysis as applied to cell division, development of embryo and metabolic pathways and expose of emerging proteomic science. The volume presents the chemistry of life, macromolecules of life, cells and their housekeeping functions, gene circuits, genomics, cell adhesion and communication, cell division and its regulation, development of multicellular organisms and large scale biology. For computer scientists, physicists, and engineers.

The exciting new integration between biology, physics, and computational sciences brings out the need for a new type of engineer, one with a grasp of modern biology. New Biology for Engineers and Computer Scientists is designed as a textbook for engineering and computer science undergraduates and will also be of interest to bioinformatics or biomedical engineering graduate students with little background in biology. Physicists, engineers, and computer scientists interested in learning about biology and biotechnology will also find this book useful.

New Biology for Engineers and Computer Scientists focuses on the essentials of new biology, namely, genes and proteins, cells as the basic units of life, cell division, and animal development. The book introduces cells as robust complex networks of genes and proteins and adopts a systems view to discuss communication of cells with other cells and with the external environment. In keeping with the "hands on" approach common in engineering classes, assignment sections in each chapter illustrate the link between biology and engineering.

New Biology for Engineers and Computer Scientists integrates the tools of bioinformatics throughout the text and illustrates their effective use. Students will learn how to read nucleotide sequences from the gene bank, search for similarities among proteins or genes, and learn how to read molecular pathway diagrams. The reader is introduced to advances in genomics and protein sciences and to the emerging tools of biotechnology such as microarrays, microfluidic chips, and proteomics. Engineering and computational skills, from building micro-robots to pattern-recognition and large-scale data analysis, are of crucial importance to the biotechnology industry. This book provides an effective tool to teach new biology to those engineers and computer scientists wanting to join the biotechnology work force.